1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to nursing bottle holders. More specifically the present invention relates to a user-friendly nursing bottle holder capable of holding different sizes of bottles and being capable of attachment to various infant appliances such as strollers, automobile seats and baby carriers and capable of adjustment for the comfort and safety of the feeding infant.
2. Prior Art
Devices of this type and for this purpose have been proposed but have not been completely satisfactory for various reasons. In order to provide background information so that the invention may be completely understood and appreciated in its proper context, reference is made to a number of prior art patents as follows: U.S. Pat. No. 1,005,447 to Mayo shows an bottle holder made with small pieces, namely the removeable peg used to restrict the motion of the bottle carrier on the slide carrier which poses a choking hazard to the infant if it should become loose and swallowed. The bottle carrier provides no means for reliably securing the bottle and the sharp edges also pose a laceration threat to the infant. U.S. Pat. No. 1,271,994 to Barlow presents a supporting device for nursing bottles with a bottle clamp preferably made of spring metal and shaped to partially encircle the bottle which puts a sharp edged piece of spring metal within the grasp of the infant and also makes no provisions to reliably hold the bottle in place should the infant grasp and pull on the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,284,010 to Wilbur shows a nursing bottle holder with a bottle holding arm made of resilient wire which poses a puncture wound threat to the infant and does not lend itself to easy adaptability to a variety of nursing bottle sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 1,688,765 to Veras describes a holder for nursing bottles using adjustable clamps to hold the bottle which are secured by means of a nut and bolt and also a telescoping rod fixed in place by means of a thumbscrew. These small parts lend difficulty to the adjustment and use of the device and pose a choking hazard to the infant if they should become loose and are swallowed. U.S. Pat. No. 1,874,514 to Hansen shows a nursing bottle holder using a cup-shaped bottle holder with a lever clamp to firmly hold the bottle without breaking the bottle. This design fails to allow the bottle holder to adapt to different sizes of bottles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,015,280 to Morishita describes a bed accessory support with provisions for holding a nursing bottle. The small set screws used to secure the sliding knuckle and the clamping member and the wingnuts securing the universal joint are all exposed to the grasp of the infant and pose a choking hazard to the infant if they should become loose and are swallowed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,110,037 to De Rosa shows an adjustable bracket using a pair of hingedly connected jaws to fit the sides of the bottle which makes no provision for reliably securing the bottle in place should the infant grasp and pull the bottle and poses a laceration hazard to the infant due to the sharp edges of the hingedly connected jaws. U.S. Pat. No. 2,349,054 to Phipps describes a nursing bottle holder which fails to consider the choking hazard presented by the adjustable strap on the cradle and the thumbscrew threaded into the neck of the vertical sleeve should either of these components become loose and are swallowed by the infant. U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,694 to Foo shows a baby bottle holder with an adjustable step by step clamping band pocket which uses a multitude of small parts for adjustment and thereby exposes the infant to laceration and puncture hazards from the exposed springs and to choking hazards from the thumbscrews, bolts and wingnuts should they become loose and are swallowed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,430 to Hensley et al. describes a baby nursing bottle holder which fails to consider the laceration hazards presented by the sharp edges of the spring finger inside the bottle holding band and the choking hazards presented by the wingnuts should they become loose and swallowed by the infant. U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,648 to Sepanski shows a baby bottle holder that uses a friction loop to hold the baby bottle, yet fails to fully describe the means of frictionally engaging the bottle unless it is specific for one type of bottle and is therefore unsuitable for use with a variety of nursing bottle sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,919 to Tokar describes a nursing bottle holding device which is adjustable for various bottle sizes, yet is so complex as to infuriate the parent attempting to quickly and easily comfort an infant. The multitude of small parts necessary for the adjustment of the device present a choking hazard to the infant if they should become loose and are swallowed and the sharp edges of the exposed spring present a laceration hazard to the parents and the infant. The device is also limited to use on cribs and is not suitable for use with other infant appliances. U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,690 to Hanauer et al. shows a medical equipment device for controlling dispositions of intravenous bottles using a split sleeve member to hold the bottle, but provides no means of rotation or angular adjustment for the bottle. AUSTRALIAN PATENT NO. 136,260 to Kuhl describes an improved holder for a baby's feeding bottle capable of adjustment to various sizes of bottles, but the use of small parts, namely the nuts, bolts and thumbscrews pose choking hazards to the infant if they should become loose and are swallowed and the sharp projecting edges of the clamp pose laceration and puncture hazards to the infant. The present invention is designed to avoid this and other disadvantages of known bottle holding devices.